THE LUNCHROOM FOOD FIGHT
Differing opinions on music and the industry is one of life’s certainties. Electrocademy’s Lunchroom Food Fight series of articles will have done their job if they trigger some of these differences in opinion! Feel free to message us your thoughts (..if you’re sufficiently bolshy, interesting or just plain delightful we may give a pride of place mention) 🙂
>>> Lunchroom Food Fight Article 1 [Performing artists forcing themselves onto songwriter lists, suuuurely not?!] <<<
>>> Lunchroom Food Fight Article 2 [Why do guilty pleasure songs make us feel guilty? ] <<<
>>> Lunchroom Food Fight Article 3 [Are some styles of music “better” than others? ] <<<
>>> Lunchroom Food Fight Article 4 [Why are many artists’ follow up tracks not up to the standards of their breakthrough tracks? ] <<<
>>> Lunchroom Food Fight Article 5 [The experience of listening to Deep Chill music] <<<
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Article 1: Performing artists forcing themselves onto songwriter lists, suuuurely not?!…..
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Number 97 of digitalmusicnews.com’s ’99 problems with the music industry’ states that “performing artists often force themselves onto the list of writers to increase their royalties, even if they didn’t write a note or lyric”. So here’s a thought experiment for you: Have a listen to this frankly adorable little song…..
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(1673) Everything but the girl - Mirrorball - YouTube
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Everything but the Girl wrote and performed this nostalgic musical nugget (.. actually go check and let us know if they didn’t….. but let’s assume they did!). Listen to it again, but this time pretend that the person singing on the track is a good singer but didn’t have anything whatsoever to do with composing the music or lyrics; pretend that the singer was told what melody and words to sing on top of the already composed and recorded music….
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You’d maybe think “wow, they did a great job singing that so nicely” and you’d be correct! Now imagine you’re the songwriter/lyricist who’s not just spent the amount of time and energy that it would take the singer to learn and perform the vocals, but have instead spent way more time and creativity dreaming up all the melodies for the different instruments and writing the words and melody for the vocals. You’re told by the singer or by ‘the powers that be’ that the singer will be listed alongside you as the songwriter/lyricist; forevermore the rest of the world will see and hear your song performed by the singer and assume or – if they bothered checking at all – see the singer listed as the songwriter/lyricist and assume it’s their song (you’d just be some random extra name). How would you feel then? Not so enamoured?! Probably (!)…. though it depends….
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Outside of just learning and practicing vocals or a solo instrument part, it takes more time than most people realise to become a credible performer in the first place, even for those with an abundance of natural talent. In return for this, performers often receive a fee or split of income from live performances and multi-source non-live revenue from the track. With the correct admin in place, songwriters receive a similar kind of share for having composed/produced the song in the first place. When a performer who’s not been involved at all in the composition of a song/lyrics (or indeed any of the recording/editing stages) is listed as a songwriter, however, they or their official representatives/rights owners receive a noticeable chunk of the songwriter’s due income on top of the performer’s share of income that they’re already owed. All else equal, that’s surely a sucker blow to the songwriter right? Yep, it is! Unless the performer is – by hook or crook – already so well known or soon will be that the track will receive a massive reaction, be it sales/streams/live performances/airplay and the like. This much larger ‘pulling power’ of a big name performer, and hence large revenue generated by the track, means the money paid to the songwriter can more than offset (at least financially) the share that they’ve had to sign over to the ‘other songwriter’ (aka the non-songwriting performer!).
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So the performer would ‘just’ need to be last year’s X Factor winner or something then, then it’s all good right? WellllllllllmmmmnnnnNO …..Things are a teensy bit more subtle than that. On one hand, the more and longer the performer is in the public eye, the more the actual songwriter will gradually start to gain some fame themselves (though disturbingly nothing compared to the extent to which the performer is wrongly thought of as being the composer of the song); the performer would receive several extra bookings in the future for live performances – partly as a result of being thought of as a great songwriter – in which they may ironically not even perform the song (that they didn’t write) that helped enhance their fame, and take an even greater share (if not all) of the income. Further, are there enough sufficiently famous non-songwriting performers available to make the juice worth the squeeze for pure songwriters/producers? Clearly not, so the squeeze could get so tight that most disappear; a shame for them and shame for quality of future music and the industry. Performer/songwriters who are all rolled into one can fill some of this void obviously, but overall there’d likely a net drop in high quality songs being made which isn’t good for the performers or audience either.
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In and of itself, being a performer and songwriter is great, being exclusively a performer or exclusively a songwriter is great, being someone who simply loves and appreciates good music, performers and songwriters is great. Whatever the cost/benefit ratio though, something feels not so great about a songwriter’s share of credit being taken by a pure performer, even for those writers who simply compose for the love of the process. If the songwriter’s share of royalties was ever to be properly revised in the industry, something to be considered is that you’d still have a very very catchy pop song if you (say) swapped the (exceptional) Whitney Houston vocals on “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” with some semi-decent vocals, but if only a semi-decent composer had produced a track for Whitney Houston to sing, it likely wouldn’t nearly be as good….
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… All that said, perhaps in the words of the Mirrorball [Chorus] “..It’s too late now, let it all go, ’cause it’s never gonna be alright.. ” ?
In Article 2 we discuss Why Do Guilty Pleasure Songs Make Us Feel Guilty?!
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16 Replies to “The Lunchroom Food Fight”
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Audrey S
Couldn’t agree more about songwriters needing to get their fair share! Looking forward to the new Electrocademy singles!!
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Ryan Taylor
Very informative! Hadn’t really thought about things that way but you’re right, do most singers write their own material or do most singers not?
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ButtermilkGirl
I only sing and I’m so grateful for the people who write the songs that I perform, I don’t know how they do it. Just think how much more good music there would be instead of a lot of the rubbish these days if enough talented people were properly rewarded for creating great music. I’m loving what the label is putting out x
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TigerTony
I tried to write a song back in the day but was worried about this so I paid a singer a small amount and we agreed he wouldn’t get any further share. I’m not sure what things would be legally though. It sounds like the system is a mess!
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Richard Holmes
As a performer only, part of me wanted to find at least something to disagree with on this but sadly it’s all true and a big sad shame.
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EBoy Supreme
Dope new EP electrocademy, with love
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Lucy Fulham
I’m in love with the Feel the Rhythm EP too, Sigma Boy is just amazing x x
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THE LUNCHROOM FOOD FIGHT: ARTICLE 2
Why Do Guilty Pleasures Make Us Feel Guilty?!
To many people, one or both of these polar-opposite but sound-sational tracks will be guilty pleasures; they’re worth indulging yourself in if you’ve not done so before…
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(1673) Swing Out Sister - Breakout (Official Music Video) - YouTube
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(1673) Biggie Smalls - Hypnotize - YouTube
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… But why do some songs instill guilt within (or at least an embarrassment to admit we like them)? For example, some of the sections of Swing Out Sister’s “Breakout” has ingenious chord inversions and harmonies that would impress Bach and Beethoven, an infectious wandering electro-bass and colourful vocals throughout. Biggie Smalls’ “Hypnotise” holds the world record for the quickest time to make any dweeby kid feel like they’re the biggest badass in town, consumes you with its motor-rhythm bass and lyrical drone, nails a cool nonchalant interplay between the main and overdubbed voices and has a superb catchy and deliberate slight detune/phase on the female chorus. So why all the guilt?! …
Let’s touch on embarrassment first. When you were a young child, many guilty pleasure songs didn’t seem as such; you weren’t even thinking about the fact that you might be judged by others for liking something. When you grow older and discover that almost everything you do and show liking towards is scrutinized and judged by lots of people, including a good proportion of those around you, if you glean a disapproving or downright Mickey-taking tone towards a music style or song that you like, chances are you’ll think twice about being as open about liking it (unless you (usually correctly) don’t care what others think!). If your social circle’s a group of local hard men then you could well be in for some abuse (rightly or wrongly) for enjoying a video as camp as Breakout [above]! Also, think of how many guilty pleasures are songs from childhood, from which musical styles may have moved on in the years that followed. You might be conscious that those childhood songs have become dated in style even if they’re evergreen in musicality; indeed nostalgia plays a big part in guilty pleasure both in what tracks might be on your guilt-list and that by definition nostalgia relates to material from years ago that the ‘current mainstream’ may not fully ‘get’.
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Psychologically there’s the cognitive dissonance thing too; most people conflate music styles with their own self image and identity. This creates an inner turmoil to the listener if they (say) pride themselves on being a purist of the Baroque era who “.. doesn’t like those damned ‘drum noise’ things in pop music that the kids listen to these days..” yet finds themselves tapping their feet and singing along to “Blu Cantrell – Breathe”.
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In truth, good music is good music and ought to be… nothing more nothing less… , so while Electrocademy would raise an eyebrow if you told us your *entire* music playlist consisted *without exception* of a “Vengaboys – We Are Going to Ibiza” through to “Aqua – I’m a Barbie Girl” cheese-athon, and while it mightn’t be the best idea to be caught spitting the lyrics “..Your daughter’s tied up in a Brooklyn basement..” from Hypnotize [above] in a traffic jam with the windows down as your boss pulls up alongside, if you’ve a guilty pleasure or ten, then generally speaking: raise the volume, care nothing of what others think, sing/dance around…. OWN IT.
In ARTICLE 3 we discuss whether some styles of music are “better” than others…. ?!
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9 Replies to “The Lunchroom Food Fight: Article 2”
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Anna Matthews
All of my dumb friends get so hung up on what their music says about them and others, I just like what I like so my music collection is alien to them haha!! Thank you for your super tracks electrocademy
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TigerTony
I wish guilty pleasure wasn’t even a thing. People are too judgmental nowadays and nobody wants to upset the group out of fear of being marginalised. It’s why we have so many rubbish repetitive styles becoming popular at times because people will follow what the dominant group says is cool and go against what they actually enjoy.
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ChickPea
Super Trouper ABBA then Doop by Doop!
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TigerTony
Bjork It’s Oh So Quiet ChickPea!
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Wang Yi
When musician make the music they don’t want it to be guilty pleasure, it for all enjoy.
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Lucy Fulham
Music from Electrocademy is my guilty and not so guilty pleasure x x
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Ian Holden
I listened to Electrocademy music on repeat until I fell asleep then felt guilty that I didn’t do the dishes 😣
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THE LUNCHROOM FOOD FIGHT: ARTICLE 3
Are some styles of music “better” than others?
Electrocademy enjoys performing (or DJ’ing) both difficult and delicate music and composes/produces/improvises music at the distinguished/tricky as well as simpler end of varied musical styles, whether mainstream or niche. So there’s arguably some earned leverage to chime in with some opinions on this much debated question 😉 ….
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So we’ll first consider the question of does it even matter if some musical styles are “better” than others if people are happy with whatever styles they enjoy listening to? Well it depends…..
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… Let’s first define what “enjoy music” means. For pop music in particular, this can often in reality mean “.. I’m attracted to person XYZ because of their looks and/or persona, and I’ll use being a fan of their music as an excuse to gush about them (.. I’ll overlook the fact that they’ve a team of musicians writing all of their music (which may or may not be good music overall), an autotuner for their voice, a marketing team/advertising budget that got them noticed, and a makeup/styling/choreography team etc..)” or it can mean “.. I’m out with my college friends going to a party/club night where DJ XYZ is on, and in reality I just want to party/look cool and sociable/sound cool because I’m seeing some famous DJ, and will overlook the fact that I don’t even like the music they play/the fact that they didn’t even write any of the music that they ‘perform’ by pressing play on their laptop to a crowd who seem none the wiser (though who equally probably don’t care and just want to party)..”…
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… For examples like those above, the question of enjoying strictly the music itself barely even applies (though they’re likely missing out on enjoying some great music that they’d love if they chose to find it).
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So here by “enjoy music” we mean “enjoy the music for the music itself” (as opposed to saying that it’s enjoyable when really there’s some underlying non-musical reason why someone says it’s enjoyable)….
… At this point, there’s quite a large subset of people who defer to one or two styles of music almost exclusively, and scoff at those who enjoy or rate other styles… For these people, if they’re genuinely-hand-on-heart satiated with the styles of music that they enjoy where they’ve little to no craving to discover and love other styles too, then again, it probably doesn’t matter too much for them (at an individual level at least) whether some styles are “better than others”. That said, for those within this group who haven’t spent much time or energy exploring styles beyond their musical listening comfort zone, they are, however, probably missing out on a healthy dose of listening happiness! Others might be a bit bored with what’s available in their current preferred styles but at the same time have irrationally negative feelings towards other styles of music (eg because of stereotypical ‘image’ of certain music styles)…
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… The group for which the question of whether some musical styles are “better” than others matters most is likely the discerning listeners/musical enthusiasts/musical intellectuals…. Let’s be clear, the question is not asked in an academically competitive sense, though at the same time, a musical ear can naturally become bored with some styles much earlier than with others!
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So back to the main question – which we’ve established at least matters for some – … are some musical styles “better” than others? Well now we’ve the problem of what do we mean by better? For some this may mean the most impressive musical style to see performed. For others, this may mean how happy or motivated the music makes them feel. Better could mean how successful some styles are for triggering soppy or downright hateful emotions or any other emotion a person wants to submerge themselves in or indeed make their target audience feel. A musical theorist might prefer complicated harmonies, enormous orchestral works or melodically awkward but theoretically curious compositions….
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….At the time or writing, Electrocademy is working on a rock/pop/indie track which is musically less complicated to produce/compose than some of our electronic releases and material for clients; however, in the context of a live show it can be equally catchy and possibly moreso for rock enthusiasts. Ultimately, there are ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ aspects of each and every musical style and the extent to and the grounds on which these ‘+’/’-‘ aspects are more or less important than others makes determining if some musical styles are better than others a woolly analysis at best! …
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.. So in reality, due to massive diversity of individual opinions, it’s a question that could never and perhaps shouldn’t ever be answered, and the best approach by far is to enjoy what you enjoy but maybe at times explore and encourage the exploration of styles beyond your day to day playlists 🙂 …
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… On the flip side, it’s fair to say there’s a good proportion of utter garbage out there for one reason or another within all underground as well as mainstream scenes. While trying to pin down exactly what music should be coveted and encouraged over other styles of music is impossible and generally bad play, it is fair to say that the current state at the ‘top end’ of the music industry is like having the Olympic Games but instead of having the best and most well trained professionally skilled athletes competing, there’s a mish-mash of talent, partial talent and downright farce/music that could be a LOT better had other more talented musicians been involved even if it’s in styles that people already like (part of this problem being caused by the reasons listed earlier as to why some people superficially claim to like the music of certain individuals and the inevitable commercialisation that follows from these patterns of behaviour..).. As such – while we’d definitely not want to lose the crazy novelty songs that everyone loves and so on – there’s definite scope (for the greater good) for somehow bringing out the best of every new and existing musical style relative to the current musical landscape!
In Article 4 we talk about how and why a lot of music artists release music that’s not up to the standards of their initial track releases.
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Shrikanth Namdush
Greetings from India! I have been wondering of similar question for a long while and this makes it clear that there isn’t truly an answer we should listen to as much different types of music as we can!
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Yvonne Coulson
I love winding my friends up about their love of Chesney Hawkes haha but this is actually spot on! 🙂 🙂
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Thundertron
UK grime is underrated but this article’s got me thinking, probably a lot of music is????
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Clare Patterson
Grime ewwwww! I don’t like Stormzy but Wiley Rolex is good. Agree every style has it’s good and bad. You would still think I was weird if you saw what’s on my playlists though! When is the indie rock song out Electrocademy? x
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Wow! This could be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Magnificent. I’m also a specialist in this topic so I can understand your effort. Claudia Benny Ebarta
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admin
Glad you enjoy and find value in the articles! There’s a whole side to the music industry that the general public don’t realise isn’t there 🙂
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Piotre DeMedici
There is a personal preference thing but deep down some people can tell I think that some styles have more substance than other styles and they probably have more respect for them
THE LUNCHROOM FOODFIGHT: ARTICLE 4
Why are many artists’ follow up tracks not up to the standards of their breakthrough tracks?
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Ever found yourself wondering why a music artist who released a couple of out-of-this-world tracks didn’t seem to keep the momentum going at that level? Or why the album they released afterwards just didn’t seem to measure up? ..
.. It’s not all artists obviously, but definitely enough for this to be a thing! …
Artists can often feel pressure (whether perceived or real) to be diverse in the styles they compose. While that’s good in principle, for many they stray into styles that aren’t necessarily their creative strength rather than – having likely broken some great new ground in their original style – developing more fresh material in their original style where there’s plenty of uncharted room for some cool creation.
There’s also the paradox of technological development. The tools for music recording and production have rapidly improved and become much more accessible in recent years. While that’s a superb development, artists are under pressure to create and release music at a faster pace… Once they’ve got their “head above the noise” via the traction of their initial releases, the temptation – arguably perceived necessity even – of using technology to produce a large amount of music (using (say) common garden sound-sets and loops) rather than harnessing the technology to continue to break new ground, is always there.
Traditionally – and to some extent it remains the case – when a music artist signs a recording contract, a fixed budget is allocated for the time to compose and produce songs. The artist might have been signed on the basis of one or more demo tracks, these being the culmination of the artist’s creative thoughts and energy over a long period of time to that point. Post record deal, these ideas are honed in the studio into something spectacular and likely to be a commercial success when combined with the marketing efforts of the record company. The remaining ‘studio budget/studio time’ is used to create some additional album tracks that might be produced in a (relative) hurry involving ideas that aren’t up to the standards of what the artist put into their initial releases (their magnum opus). Even when subsequent releases are composed and released by an artist, whether or not this involves a record company, the artist’s best creative ideas to that point may well have been ploughed into their initial releases with a relative paucity of inspiration bubbling up in the months or years that follow.
Sometimes the reason for the drop in music release quality post initial splash onto the music listening public’s radar is largely innocent. Prior to gaining traction with their initial fame, a musician may have very pure values and targets for their music career; wanting to enlighten and entertain their listening audience with concepts and musical ideas that are part of their overall creative vision. They may not have thought about the fame, demanding tour lifestyle and all of the spoils that that brings. As they become increasingly submerged in the partial or full celebrity/famous artist lifestyle, the time and energy to dedicate to ensuring their creative work remains at the standard of their initial releases – or indeed the necessity to – diminishes quite substantially ….
.. it’s quite conceivable that a number of famous artists could wind up retiring and think to themselves ” I never did get around to releasing that track I wanted to make that combined African tribal chants with rock guitar. “
In Article 5 we discuss the experience of listening to Deep Chill music.
6 Replies to “The Lunchroom Food Fight: Article 4”
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Markus Vince
I think a lot of them just do the music that’s handed to them. Guess once the company has got them famous the music itself becomes less important. So sad
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Fizzbomb
This always happens when I find someone I like on Spotify and then it’s never like the first songs they do!!!
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Paul Arnold
Their creative direction possibly even though it alienates their original fans? Wish they wouldn’t a lot of the time though
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Ruth Coates
Some of the celebrities just aren’t actually that good and probably run out of ideas fast haha
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Janet Davies
Some pop star in the US did a meme saying I get paid by rich men to sing songs that other men have written
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CurlyMC
I would be happy to write anything
THE LUNCHROOM FOOD FIGHT: ARTICLE 5
The Experience of Deep Chill Music
Let’s not get too bogged down in the specific definition of Deep Chill music; purists will tie it to a relatively narrow sub-style within the overall genre of music that has a chilled vibe. Instead – for the purposes of this article at least – we’ll say it’s “music with a chilled vibe that’s got more substance/layers than a simple relaxing piece of music.” Most recently this is likely to be performed and produced electronically (though not necessarily) and is often likely to provoke a powerful euphoric but relaxing or reflective response in the listener.
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Deep Chill in the modern era gained a lot of momentum and publicity in the 1990’s and then onwards post the millennium to present, often being played at post-club after-parties, or – for example – at seaside venues such as the Café del Mar in Ibiza, where party goers or holidaymakers would congregate to chill and watch the sun set prior to a night of clubbing.
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Deep Chill, however, holds a relatively uniquely versatile position in the musical style spectrum, often associated with (and great for) sunbathing on a sunbed on the beach or by a swimming pool, scenic road-trips, listening to while working or studying or in the bath, and so on … [ 🙂 ]
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While everyone’s emotional response to music differs person to person, due to its euphoria-inspiring yet relaxing psychological effects on the listener, places such as Bath Spa have actually introduced a room in which Deep Chill music is played while spa guests shut their eyes and indulge. With pure uninterrupted focus on the music, the listener can experience a journey inspired from the music itself or prompting the listener’s interpretation in their mind.
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Neurological research has been carried out into the goosebumps and tingles that can be inspired on listening to music such as Deep Chill, for example…
Deep Chill is arguably one of the closest relatives in the modern era to classical music from several hundred years ago. You can find a number of Deep Chill and other chillout works from Electrocademy on our label (including the Deep Chill mix of our latest track “Chiringuito”) in our Latest Commercial Releases. Let us know your thoughts on Deep Chill / chillout music below or drop us a line!
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5 Replies to “THE LUNCHROOM FOOD FIGHT: ARTICLE 5”
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Binita Ameso
Chill music helps me forget my problems for a while and look at life differently
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Raj Purdusa
It changes my state of mind like dreams and makes me feel happy I don’t know why it is not even more popular
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Alana Graham
So cool if you could show us how you produce some of it one time
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CurlyMC
Always liked deep chill music puts me on another level. Its good for slow motion scenes in film I find is the case.
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Andromeda
Metal fan here but not adverse to having me a bit of chill. The deeper stuff especially and listen to Pete Tong chill album and what you have done here. Otherwise quite difficult to find though because playlists tend to be padded out.